I 112th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6712 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 27, 2012 Ms. Richardson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the disclosure to parents of information regarding mental illness treatment for their children under the age of 26.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Elgin Stafford Mental Illness Information Disclosure Act of 2012 or Elgin’s Law.

2.

Findings

The Congress finds the following: (1)Mental illness is the leading cause of disability, as reflected in lost years of productive life, in North America, in Europe, and, increasingly, in the world. By 2020, major depressive illness will be the leading cause of disability in the world for women and children. (2)Mental illnesses strike individuals in the prime of their lives, often during adolescence and young adulthood. All ages are susceptible, but the young and the old are especially vulnerable. (3)Without treatment, the consequences of mental illness for the individual and society are staggering, including unnecessary disability, unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, inappropriate incarceration, suicide, wasted lives, and an economic cost of more than $100 billion each year in the United States. (4)The best treatments for serious mental illnesses today are highly effective so that between 70 and 90 percent of individuals with serious mental illness have significant reduction of symptoms and improved quality of life with a combination of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments and supports. (5)Since early identification and treatment is of vital importance in treating mental illness, especially for children and young adults, the active, knowledgeable, and sympathetic involvement of parents and legal guardians is to be encouraged to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with generally accepted and established clinical practice.

3.

Disclosure to parents and legal guardians of mental illness treatment of children under the age of 26

(a)

In general

In the case of a covered individual (as defined in subsection (e)(1)) who is being treated for mental illness by a health care professional, subject to subsection (b), the health care professional shall disclose to a parent (if any) of the individual such information regarding the mental illness and treatment for mental illness as may be useful for the appropriate involvement of the parent with respect to the treatment. (b)

Exceptions

Subsection (a) shall not apply in such exceptional circumstances as the Secretary may provide by regulation where the involvement of the parent would be counter-productive to the treatment involved. (c)

Application of HIPAA privacy regulations

For purposes of applying the HIPAA privacy regulations, the disclosure of information under this section shall be treated as a permissible disclosure not requiring the consent of the covered individual involved. (d)

Publication and notice on Department websites

The Secretary shall post information on the requirements of this section on such websites of the Department of Health and Human Services as may be appropriate to inform the public and health care professionals. (e)

Definitions

In this section: (1)

Covered individual

The term covered individual means an individual who— (A)is— (i)a minor child; (ii)an uninsured adult under the age of 26; or (iii)an adult under the age of 26 who is covered as a dependent under the health benefits coverage of a parent; and (B)is being treated for mental illness by a health care professional. (2)

Health benefits coverage

The term health benefits coverage has the meaning given the term minimum essential coverage in section 5000A(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (3)

HIPAA privacy regulations

The term HIPAA privacy regulations has the meaning given the term HIPAA privacy regulation in section 1180(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d–9(b)(3)). (4)

Mental illness

The term mental illness means a chronic illness such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and major clinical depression, and such term includes other conditions contained in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV published by the American Psychiatric Association (or any successor publication by such Association). (5)

Parent

The term parent includes a legal guardian. (6)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (7)

Uninsured

An individual shall be treated as uninsured if the individual is not covered under any health benefits coverage.